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Process Analysis/Manufacturing Process Analysis:

Definition: Process Analysis can be understood as the rational breakdown of the production process into
different phases, that turns input into output. It refers to the full-fledged analysis of the business process,
which incorporates a series of logically linked routine activities, that uses the resources of the
organization, to transform an object, with the aim of achieving and maintaining the process excellence.

Process Analysis is nothing but a review of the entire process flow of an organization to arrive at a
thorough understanding of the process. Further, it is also helpful to set up targets for the purpose of
process improvement, which is possible by eliminating unnecessary activities, reduce wastage and
increasing efficiency. Thus, it ultimately ends up improving the overall performance of the business
activities.

Organizations create value by providing either manufactured products or services. These, in turn, are the
output of processes. For example, Federal Express uses a set of processes to speedily deliver parcels from
point A to point B. Disneyworld creates entertainment experiences via another set of processes. Nike
supplies shoes to stores via a set of processes, which include obtaining raw materials, manufacturing, and
distributing shoes. Clearly, the way in which a process is managed impacts it performance, and this, in
turn, impacts process output. This makes process management crucial to an organization’s ability to
create and deliver value. To manage processes, we need to understand them. Process mapping or process-
flow diagramming is a visual tool that helps achieve this.

Process Flowcharting:
Process flowcharting is the use of a diagram to present the major elements of a process. The basic
elements can include tasks or operations, flows of materials or customers, decision points, and storage
areas or queues. It is an ideal methodology by which to begin analyzing a process.

Flowchart symbols:

Flowchart Examples:
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DETAILED FLOW CHART PROCESS

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Important Concepts in Process Analysis:

Process capacity:

Capacity in a production or process sense (Production Capacity) refers to the maximum amount of output
that can be obtained through a certain machine or production line. Capacity can also be expressed in
terms of an output rate of a certain number of units per unit of time.

If, for example, one worker needs 40 seconds to put together a sandwich, the capacity of this station is
1/40 per second or 1,5 sandwiches per minute. If there are two workers on the same station, the capacity
increases to 2/40 per second or 3 sandwiches per minute.

Machine capacity = operating hours x operating rate x the number of machine

Capacity utilization:

The percentage of capacity utilization that is actually being used.

Cycle time:

The period required to complete one cycle of an operation; or to complete a function, job, or task from
start to finish. Cycle time is used in differentiating total duration of a process from its run time. The process
is said to be in balance if cycle times are equal for each activity.

Example: Suppose you had to produce 600 units in 80 hours to meet the demand requirements of the
product. What is the cycle time to meet this requirement?

Cycle time = 8 minutes

Throughtput rate or flow rate:

The number of flow units (e.g. customers, money, produced goods/services) going through the business
process per unit time, e.g served customers per hour or produced parts per minute. The flow rate usually
is an average rate.

Throughput rate = inventory/cycle time

Currently, the company holds 100 chairs in inventory. The average time that a chair is contained in the
business process from its production to selling is ten days. Using the above information, we can find the
throughput:

R = 100 chairs / 10 days

R = 10 chairs/day

Flow time:

The amount of time a flow unit spends in a business process from beginning to end, also known as the
total processing time.
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Idle time:

Time when no activity is being performed.

Work in process:

The amount of inventory in process.

Set-up time:

Time required to prepare the equipment to perform a specific activity.

Bottleneck:

A bottleneck is one process in a chain of processes, such that its limited capacity reduces the capacity of
the whole chain.

Utilization:

Utilization tells us how well a resource is being used. It is calculated as flow rate divided by capacity. The
utilization always lies between 0% to 100%.

Pacing:

Fixed timing of the movement of items through a process.

Blocking:

It occurs when activities in stage must stop because the is no place to deposit the item just completed.

Starving:

It occurs when activities in a stage must stop because there is no work.

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Question: